Monthly Archives: December 2012

GM Aims For Landfill-Free

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American automotive manufacturer  General Motors,  is increasing their total number of landfill-free operations facilities, slowing coming closer to reaching their corporate environmental sustainability goal of one hundred and twenty five facilities throughout the world by the year 2020.

The company’s Lockport, New York location is the most recent facility to achieve zero-to-landfill status by converting all daily operations waste to energy or reusing or recycling. It is the 103rd such GM facility to reach this status.

During the prior year, the Lockport location recycled six million pounds of aluminum and generated nearly four million in revenue. The facility is responsible for manufacturing the heating and cooling components for a variety of GM vehicles. The plant manager and staff credits the convenience and ease of the recycling program as a key reason for its success. Clearly marked bins in key locations pose no disruptions to the workflow and serve as frequent reminders.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Whether your business is a large one like General Motors or a small operation with just a few employees, setting re-use and recycling goals is something that can save your business money, possible earn you some good publicity, and contribute to the well-being of the planet. If you’ve been thinking about creating a comprehensive materials waste recycling plan, let 2013 be the year you take action!

Michigan Vows To Improve Recycling

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The state of Michigan is vowing to improve its twenty percent recycling rate in the new year, claiming that with a new strategic plan for energy and environmental conservation, it should be able to do better. The new year will see the state examining options, with a comprehensive initiative being put into place for 2014.

Currently, only thirty-five percent of all Michigan residents are provided with curbside recycling options. This is the lowest amount compared to all states in the north central region according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. In addition to increasing recycling rates and reducing the amount of trash disposed of in landfills, the state is also looking to make improvements in green energy, evaluate the pros and cons of hyrdo-fracking for natural gas, and urban farming as a measure to cultivate abandoned or unused parcels of land in city areas.

The Michigan Recycling Coalition is confident that the state could easily recycle at least thirty percent of generated waste which would put it on par with other states in the region as well as create additional jobs and economic growth in the collection, processing, and re-selling of recycled materials. One simply way to raise the rate would be to lift the currently state-wide ban on yard and organic waste.

One area that Michigan excels in is the recycling of beverage bottles. Due to a ten cent deposit/refund per bottle, the state claims a ninety-six percent return rate on all bottles sold.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: As the new year approaches, take the time to perform a recycling and waste audit on your business or household. What areas are you doing well in and what needs to be improved? Make a plan to investigate and implement enhancements over the next twelve months.

Towns Save Big With Pay-To-Throw

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In three years, the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts has saved close to one million dollars by moving to a “pay as you throw” (PAYT) waste and recycling system for all residents. The three year period prior to the switch found the city paying out close to two million dollars for collection, sorting, and processing. City officials and residents are extremely pleased with the change and the cost savings.

In addition to the benefit of saving a million dollars from the city’s operating budget, the change to PAYT has had the added environmental benefit of having a twenty eight percent decrease in the amount of waste heading to regional landfills. Before launching the program, the city collected more than nine thousand tons of garbage. In 2009 that number dropped to seventy five hundred and in 2010 dropped even more to seven thousand tons.

The PAYT program, which charges residents for trash removal based on the amount of garbage they produce, has encouraged everyone to economize through increased levels of recycling and separation of waste materials.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: While some people will respond to the importance of preserving the environment, most people will respond to measures that involve their checkbook or wallet! If you’re looking to save money by reducing waste disposal fees, pass the savings along as a benefit to increased recycling and you’ll see greater participation!

Demand For Recycled Plastic Rises

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It is expected that the demand from manufacturers for recycled plastic will rise close to seven percent by the year 2016 with a need for over three and one half billion pounds of material.

This amount is nearly one billion pounds more than what was needed in 2012 and is due to the growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging and consumer products. In addition, technologically advanced recycling processing and sorting machinery allows recyclers to identify and use more types of plastic resin products.

Continued efforts from federal, state and municipal governments to cut costs by increasing recycling efforts while limiting of charging more for landfill dumping of trash will also assist in ensuring that the demand for recycled plastic is met with an adequate and affordable supply.

Using recycled plastic for packaging will be the primary market for re-sellers and recyclers with plastic bottles being responsible for providing close to half of the demand. In 2011, PET and HDPE plastics were responsible for filling close to seventy percent of the market need. Business and consumer sectors that currently use minimal recycled plastic but could experience growth are construction products, packaging film, and the automotive industry.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: The business and consumer demand for recycled plastics isn’t going away. Looking for new ways to satisfy this need in your sector is a great way to make green while supporting green initiatives like recycling!

 

 

From Waste To Fuel

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Imagine if your community’s organic food and yard waste was turned into a fuel for use in vehicles? The reality may not be that far off based on a research report recently released by the New York based company, Energy Vision in collaboration with CALSTART, a consortium of business and research interests focusing on the development of clean and innovative transportation technologies. The group states that using biogas originating from common organic waste has the potential to be used as a transportation fuel.

Organic waste biogas has the potential to generate electric power and provide heating to homes and buildings; and this is currently done in certain areas of the United States but converting organic waste into a clean fuel solution for vehicles is new and innovative. However, the creation process is similar to natural gas where as the organic waste decomposes, the resulting gases are collected and refined so they can be used effectively.

Energy Vision and CALSTART are hopeful that communities having forty thousand or more residents would be able to generate sufficient organic waste to produce the clean fuel to power their municipal vehicles such as police cars, school buses, and snowplows throughout the year. Smaller sized communities could form neighboring co-operatives to combine organic waste and share the resulting fuel.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: What are your community leaders doing to reduce costs and protect the environment? Organic waste is something that all of us generate, so why not have it be an asset instead of a liability!

Recycling Success For Massachusetts Town

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The residents of Watertown, Massachusetts, a Boston area suburb with a population of thirty thousand, are seeing great success from their recent improvements to city-wide recycling initiatives.

A mere four months after creating a new, curbside recycling program, the city has seen the level of garbage generated by residents drop by over twenty percent and the level of recyclable material  increase by close to thirty five percent. All parties involved from city officials to residents to the contracted waste and recycling haulers, are pleased with the success.

The new recycling program, which began over the summer, involves picking up recycling materials every other week using sturdy, sixty-four gallon containers. The plan has been so widely embraced that many residents report the need for additional bins or a move to weekly recycling pick-ups. While Watertown administrators express concern that moving to weekly recycling pick-up would erase the savings of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars that is currently afforded the city with the current plan,  there is discussion about allowing residents to purchase additional recycling bins beyond the one provided to them to help fuel the recycling habit.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: The Watertown success story shows that you can be financially savvy and environmentally-aware at the same time. As more and more people want the chance to recycling, cities and towns need to consider opportunities to save money while saving the planet!

Wisconsin Hits Record High Collection of E-Waste

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has recently announced that after three years of launching the state’s comprehensive electronic waste recycling program, residents and businesses have new recycled close to one hundred million pounds of unwanted or outdated computers, televisions, and other electronic appliances.

The state of Wisconsin legally bans all electronic devices from being disposed of in landfills or destroyed through incinerators. As a result of this state-wide policy, a recycling program was created that was funded through electronics manufactures selling their products in the state. In 2012 along, electronics waste collectors processed almost forty  million pounds of waste materials, this equates to almost sever pounds of e-waste per state resident.

With over four hundred e-waste collection points throughout the state, residents and businesses have an inexpensive and convenient way to safely, and legally, dispose of broken or outdated equipment.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Many of the components in electronics equipment are considered hazardous waste, so it makes good environmental sense not to dispose of  unwanted gadgets by throwing them in the trash. In some states, private companies may offer financial incentives for your outdated cell phones and computers, so it pays to search around and see what disposal options are available to you!

 

Houston Considers A One-Bin Trash Solution

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When most people think of recycling, blue and green plastic bins come to mind – as well as having to sort paper, plastics, glass, cardboard into different containers. It’s a task that not everyone enjoys doing and as a result, recycling rates can be lower than what they should be. However, the city of Houston, Texas is looking to change that with a new, “one bin” solution – that looks identical to what was done before recycling enter our daily lives.

Under the new proposal, residents would simply but everything together into one bin – waste and recyclables and the sorting would take place at a designated processing facility. The city’s current recycling rate is a low fourteen percent. On issue is that various neighborhoods in the city have different waste collection and recycling services – with some areas no having any curbside pick-up.

The biggest challenge is ensuring that quality, clean recyclables can be saved when mixed in with general waste and refuse. The city collects almost half a million tons of waste, yard scraps, and recyclables from residents. Of the waste collected, city officials believe that half of it is recyclable and should be diverted from landfills.

To fulfill this plan the city is currently applying for private and federal grants as well as looking for business partners.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: There isn’t one set solution to improving recycling rates in your community. It’s important to look at a variety of options and weight their associated costs and benefits.

California Gets Tough On Hazardous Waste

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A judge in Oakland, California has ordered the drugstore chain Walgreens to pay a fine of over sixteen and a half million dollars against claims that more than six hundred Walgreens locations in the state illegally dumped hazardous pharmaceutical waste endangering the environment and the people residing in the areas where the improper dumping occurred.

The claim against the drugstore chain was filed by the district attorney’s office after inspections of waste disposal and trash bins at several Walgreens locations revealed hazardous and medical wasted mixed in with standard garbage. The lawsuit was filed over the summer and the settlement was recently reached.

The district attorney charged the stores with illegally disposing of toxic and hazardous chemicals including bleach, paint, pesticides, and pharmaceutical waste. Stores were also charged with disposing of customer’s confidential medical information in an illegal manner. Walgreens settled the case and did not acknowledge any wrongdoing stating that the company ships all hazardous waste to a specialized disposal facility which incinerates the material.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: It’s a good idea to routinely look through what your employees put out in the trash. Sometimes, you can spot ways to save money by noticing recyclables – but other times, it can save you from fines and charges related to illegally disposing of hazardous waste!

 

Recycling Contests Boost School Participation

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Public schools in Providence, Rhode Island have boosted their recycling rates by almost twenty percent since September thanks to educational resources from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and some good, old-fashioned competition.

Over the summer months, the city’s school administration designed the contest called the School Recycling Challenge, which tracked the success of each the district’s schools in a contest to see which students had the best participation and which building could recycle the most. The winners would receive a trophy and special recognition from Providence Mayor Angel Taveras.

Since launching the year-long contest, recycling rates have jumped more than seventeen percent with some schools recycling more than four pounds per student. In addition to student participation,  teachers, school staff, and administrators are also active in recycling their waste materials and keeping morale high.

The School Recycling Challenge is part of a citywide recycling campaign which has a goal of increasing recycling throughout Providence.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Who says recycling has to be all stick and no carrot? If you’re looking to increase your school’s or business’  recycling rate, why not try a contest? An incentive can help to start the recycling habit!